1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the systems and methods described herein relate to enhancing consumer leads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Consumer lead generation is a large and growing industry. The lead generation industry identifies individual or business consumers that may be interested in buying products or services and sells contact information for those consumers to providers of the products or services. For example, a residential loan lead generation company, such as LowerMyBills.com, identifies consumers interested in getting a residential loan and sells the consumers' contact information to lenders of residential loans. The contact information of the potentially interested buyer is known as a “lead.”
Lead generation companies sell leads for many products and services, including residential loans, commercial loans, real estate agents, automobiles, attorneys, housecleaners, and many other products and services. Providers of such products and services buy leads because leads effectively identify consumers that are already interested in the providers' products and services. Accordingly, leads often result in more sales than advertising, cold calling, or other forms of salesmanship.
The value of a lead depends, at least partially, on the level of detail that the lead conveys about the consumer. For example, a lead that includes detailed information about a consumer's credit history may be more valuable than a lead that includes only the consumer's contact information and an estimate of the consumer's creditworthiness. While lead generation companies therefore have an incentive to seek detailed consumer information, some consumers may reject attempts to obtain detailed or sensitive information. Accordingly, a lead generation company that seeks detailed or sensitive consumer information directly from consumers may obtain fewer leads than a company that seeks less detailed information.